Catchy title of research: The first land-based tardigrade reported from the Philippines

Mesobiotusphilippinicus, the first land-based tardigrade reported from the Philippines.

Scanning electron micrograph image of the egg of Mesobiotusphilippinicus, the first land-based tardigrade reported from the Philippines.

Tardigrades are microscopic creatures that are able to tolerate extreme environments such as heat, pressure, dehydration, and the vacuum of space. However, little is known about these organisms, and even less is known about their presence in the Philippines. In this study, we have been able to isolate a land-based tardigrade from tree moss. Careful inspection of the morphology of the adult and eggs of the isolated organism, along with DNA-based information show that this is a new and previously unreported species that belongs to the newly erected genus, Mesobiotus. The organism has been officially named Mesobiotusphilippinicus. Studies are now underway to understand how these organisms can survive under adverse conditions and may provide clues as to how life can adapt to extreme enviroments.

The 2013 Ms 7.2 Bohol earthquake is investigated through the spatiotemporal properties of its aftershocks. Previously, we have shown that the space and time separation distributions for all historical earthquakes in the Philippines from 1973 shows two regimes: the shorter regime is believed to be due to the correlated aftershocks, while the longer regime is due to independent events. The Bohol 2013 aftershocks verified this: their spatiotemporal distributions recovered only the short-distance and short-time regimes of historical data, signifying that the shorter regimes in space and time are indeed due to correlated events.

The research study uses the socio-economic classification system known as the 1SEC 2012. The wealth of a household is based on its total expenditure. Since it is difficult to ask for total expenditure in household surveys, our research study uses other household indicators to predict socio-economic class (SEC). These include education of household head, energy-using facilities owned, living space assets, tenure of home, and so forth. The study then explores several state-of-the-art statistical algorithms to come up with an optimal way of predicting SEC.

Catchy title of research: A New Approach in Evaluating Teaching Performance using Student Rating

Some universities are currently administering their student ratings via online or electronic approach in evaluating teaching performance. Although online administration could definitely decrease a large amount of cost, the presence of a high non-response rate which could lead to a non-representative sample is a major dilemma. Moreover, these non-representative samples could lead to invalid conclusion of the results. Hence, a representative sample through sampling application is thought of. Instead of involving all the students in the evaluation process or employing electronic approach, the selection of a random sample of students as evaluators is considered. Based on findings, the stratified random sampling is the most appropriate sampling design to use with 50% of the students for each class section serving as SET evaluators. Generally, this improved traditional paper approach same with the electronic approach could reduce the cost of administering student ratings without compensating the results of the student ratings.

The effect of sodium activation, ion-exchange with tertiary amine salt, surface treatment with non-ionic surfactant, and wet grinding of bentonite on hardness and mechanical properties of natural rubber nanocomposites (NRN) was studied. The chemical and physical modification was determined using a X-ray diffractometer and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared. Hardness was measured using a Shore A durometer. The mechanical properties of NR composites were measured using a Universal testing machine. The results showed that the main effect of surface treatment increases the hardness and decreases the tensile modulus of the NRN. The surface treatment and wet grinding of bentonite decrease the tensile stresses of NRN. Sodium activation and ion-exchange negatively affect the compressive properties, while surface treatment significantly improves the compressive properties of NRN.

New Insights into the Genetics of X-linked Dystonia-Parkinsonism (XDP, DYT3). European Journal of Human Genetics, 23: 1334–1340, 2015.

Catchy title of research: Genetics of X-linked dystonia-parkinsonism

X-linked recessive dystonia-parkinsonism is a rare movement disorder that is highly prevalent in Panay Island, Philippines. Earlier studies identified 7 different genetic alterations within a 427-kb locus on the x chromosome but the exact disease causing variant is still not unequivocally determined. 166 patients and 473 Filipino controls were sequenced. 5 patients had none of the disease-associated variants and 1 male control carrying all of them.

The performance of a symmetric and non-symmetric blade profile in uniform (steady) wind compared to other studies.

The performance of the non-symmetric blade profile in fluctuating wind.

Through computer modelling, the effects of fluctuating wind speeds on the performance of vertical axis wind turbines were investigated using different blade profiles. Symmetric and different levels of asymmetric blade profiles were used in vertical axis wind turbine simulations in fluctuating wind inflows. A desired asymmetry is identified to provide optimum results for energy conversion.

The thrips, Scirtothrips dorsalis is a highly polyphagous insect pest that feed in a wide number of plant species. It is an occasional pest of mango in some areas in Indonesia but in some areas it is a serious pest. This paper looked for a possible explanation of why this phenomenon happens. A survey was conducted in the mango agroecosystem to know in which plants do they feed on and in what plants do they stay longer than others. Whether the sexes occur in equal numbers and whether they have young in a plant indicate if they breed or feed only on those plants. These patterns of occurrence were compared to what is happening in mango. After a month long monitoring of the populations in the different plants and weeds, thrips population in mango did not differ from those in the weeds present in the orchard in terms of the proportion of young and old as well as the male and female. Thrips therefore feed and breed at the same time in these plants and strongly indicate free movement from one plant to another.

Sampaloc Lake, located at the center of San Pablo City in Laguna Province, Philippines is an important lentic freshwater ecosystem. The lake offers a wide-ranging ecosystem services to the surrounding communities. The water is used for many important activities including washing, bathing, and openwater fishing. Aquaculture is also a principal business in the area. This expansion coupled with the rapid urbanization in the recent decade has made Sampaloc Lake a receptacle of wastes coming from the intensive fish feeding from residential and industrial establishments. However, no reports have been published on the bioavailability of heavy metals from this freshwater body despite its possible threats not only to its natural resources but also to human health.Heavy metals are naturally present at low levels in aquatic ecosystems and serve some biological functions at physiological levels. However, increased concentrations in surface waters, attributed to domestic and industrial effluents may result in high accumulation rates in tissues of aquatic animals, including economically important fishes. The potential role of acanthocephalans as bioindicators of heavy metalcontamination in aquatic ecosystems is now gaining interest to ecologists and parasitologists.This group of intestinal parasitic helminthes has been reported to accumulate heavy metals at magnitudes greater than their fish hosts. This study investigatedlead (Pb) bioaccumulation capacity of acanthocephalan (Acanthogyrus spp.) parasites in the intestines of NileTilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) from Sampaloc Lake. The bioaccumulation of Pb by the acanthocephalan parasitesshowed to be thousand-fold higher than the fish hosts. This is the first report of potential bioindicator of heavy metal in aquatic ecosystem in the Philippines using fish parasites. Resource managers interested in environmental protection may consider using this tool to lessen degradation of the lakes that could pose serious threat to our food resource and health.

There is a paucity of published literature on the different oral medications tried for X-linked dystonia parkinsonism (XDP). In practice, most XDP patients are tried or have been tried on medications typically used for patients with generalized dystonia. These drugs include anticholinergic agents, baclofen, clonazepam and other benzodiazepines, tetrabenazine, and clozapine. Although several articles have shown that these classes of drugs are beneficial for patients with generalized dystonia, none have been systematically studied specifically for XDP patients. We are currently conducting the first randomized, placebo-controlled trial on the use of levodopa for the symptomatic treatment of XDP. This article reviews the data on the various

Catchy title of research: Variation in oxygen isotope ratio of phosphate due to uptake process in corals

The applicability of δ18Op or the oxygen isotope ratio as a tool to examine the cycling of phosphate for short incubation experiments was extended to study P cycle in coral reefs. In previous studies, δ18Op was mainly used as a potential tracer of specific external phosphate sources such as fertilizer, wastewater, upwelling, and volcanism. Such application depends on the assumption that δ18Op is conservative enough within the given spatial and temporal scales that it does not change beyond the difference between any combinations of sources. However, our results have shown that δ18Op could be significantly altered during uptake of phosphate by corals, which is dependent on coral species. In natural low phosphate environments, phosphate is presumed to turn over at a rate faster than in our experimental aquaria. This may limit the use of δ18Op as a conservative tracer for external phosphate sources in coastal waters where δ18Op may be easily altered by fractionation by corals and other major primary producers. It is important to properly identify the primary sources of phosphate as well as the processes that affect the δ18Op in a system. Nevertheless, by using appropriate simulation models incorporating δ18Op, the fate of P from each source may be described effectively even if the δ18Op is not conservative, provided that the model can successfully incorporate all the major isotope effects in a quantitative manner. Information on isotope fractionation factors is indispensable for constructing an ecosystem model that describes both concentration and isotope ratio of nutrients such as phosphate.

The growth of copper (Cu) nanowires by electroless deposition in aqueous solution at 60-80 C was studied from an electrochemical perspective using in situ mixed potential measurements and potential-pH diagrams. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) showed that thick and short nanowires were obtained at high temperatures, while long and thin nanowires result from low reaction temperatures. In situ mixed potential measurements reveal that Cu(II) reduction is more favored at higher reaction temperatures, hastening the reduction reaction. The fast reaction leads to a high concentration of Cu atoms in the solution. As a result, Cu deposition occurs rapidly, such that they attached on both sides and ends of the primary Cu nanowires. This results to the formation of thick and short structures. On the other hand, thin and long nanowires are obtained due to the slow reduction reaction, which gives the Cu atoms more time to orderly attach in a wire-like formation.

Eggplant is popularly grown in the Philippines and is served in various Filipino delicacies. The Philippines is also one of the top ten eggplant-producing countries in the world. This is the first study that looked into the various kinds of eggplant in the Philippines using three methods: morphological, molecular, and combination of both. It also pioneers the use of three methods to include cultivated, traditional varieties and wild eggplant. Thirty-two accessions, representing 30% of the available collection of local landraces at the time of study, improved cultivars, and crop wild relatives (CWR) held in the national genebank were differentiated based on 39 morphological trait descriptors and 41 molecular (SSR) markers. Ten of the 39 morphological traits accounted for high physical differences among the accessions. SSR polymorphism survey revealed that 33 out of the 41 molecular markers (80.48%) detected differences among the accessions. Landraces, cultivars, and crop wild relatives (CWR) were clearly differentiated. However, analysis of all three data sets did not distinguish the S. melongena landraces based on geographic areas of collection. CWRs were the most diverse group, followed by the landraces. The improved cultivars were the least diverse. Thus, there is a need to increase the current eggplant collection in the Phlippines, and widen the genetic diversity of currently cultivated eggplant varieties.

Alice Joan G. FerrerDivision of Social SciencesCollege of Arts and SciencesUP Visayas

Prehypertension and Associated Factors Among University Students in the Philippines. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 26 (2): 245-252, 1 May 2014.

Catchy title of research: Are University Students in the Philippines Hypertensive?

Often, prehypertension in university students is not discovered until late. This is because university students are generally healthy. Hypertension and prehypertension, however, can start in adolescence (or earlier) and continue into adulthood. Prehypertension is a new category of blood pressure, and is considered a cardiovascular risk factor. The study estimated the prevalence of prehypertension and its associated factors among university students in the University of the Philippines Visayas who were invited to participate in the study. Prehypertension is defined as systolic blood pressure between 120 and 139 mm Hg and/or diastolic blood pressure between 80 and 89 mm Hg. Blood pressure, anthropometric, health behavior, and psychosocial stress variables were measured. A total of 754 university students were included in the analysis. On the average, they were 18 years old, and 74% were women. Prehypertension prevalence was 14% and higher among men than in women (36% vs 7% ). Similarly, hypertension prevalence was 2.4% and higher among men than in women (7% vs 1%). The condition of prehypertension was associated with body mass index obesity, male gender, living off campus on their own, living with parents or guardians, and 19 years of age. The study draws attention to the importance of regularly examining the blood pressure of young persons.

Alice Joan G. FerrerDivision of Social SciencesCollege of Arts and SciencesUP Visayas

Expanding Roles of Men and Women in Aquatic Agricultural Systems in the Philippines. Asian Fisheries Science, Special Issue, 27S: 185-194, 2014.

Catchy title of research: Men and Women in Aquatic Agricultural Systems in the Philippines

The paper described the expanding roles of women and men in eight areas, five in the Visayas and three in Mindanao, that are potential pilot areas for the CGIAR project on Aquatic Agricultural Systems (AAS) in the Philippines. Data were obtained from Focus Group Discussions conducted between August and October 2012 with fishers, farmers, and women in the potential sites during the pre-scoping study on the drivers and trends of development in Visayas and Mindanao for the CGIAR Project. In AAS areas, fishing and farming are the main livelihood activities and the incidence of high poverty is a major feature. The constant confrontation with poverty increasingly pushes women and men to complement each other in reproductive and productive roles, thereby forging a stronger partnership both in the home front and in income generating activities, primarily in farming and fishing, to combat poverty and improve the family well-being. The greater need to diversify livelihoods due to climate change has also been found to further require the expanding roles of men and women. Women have also become more active in community endeavors, although men have been found to maintain lead roles in the community. The emerging role transformation shows that people understand that a diversified livelihood is more resilient than an undiversified one.

Catchy title of research:Rainfall estimation using satellite images and artificial neural network – The REIINN model

REIINN framework implementation.

Schematic diagrams of the two rainfall estimation models.

Rainfall, one of the important elements of the hydrologic cycle, is also the most difficult to model. Accurate rainfall estimation is necessary especially in localized catchment areas where variability of rainfall is extremely high. Moreover, early warning of severe rainfall through timely and accurate estimation and forecasting could help prevent disasters from flooding. This paper presents the development of two rainfall estimation models using satellite images and artificial neural networks.

Agnes C. Rola, Juan M. Pulhin*, Guillermp Q. Tabios**, Joy C. Lizada*** and Maria Helen F. Dayo****Institute of Governance and Rural Development
College of Public Affairs and Development
*Department of Social Forestry and Forest Governance
College of Forestry and Natural Resources
****Agricultural Systems ClusterCollege of AgricultureUP Los Baños**College of EngineeringUP Diliman***Department of ManagementCollege of ManagementUP Visayas

Challenges of Water Governance in the Philippines. Philippine Journal of Science, 144 (2): 197-208, December 2015.

The molecular mechanism by which AGN was able to alleviate heat stress was through enhancing heat shock related genes and proteins which serve as chaperones to the adipogenic genes and proteins. Molecular chaperones are ubiquitous and well conserved proteins which contribute to the essential machinery that binds to other proteins termed clients to support them in the folding process and preserve their conformation. As far as adipocytes are concerned, chaperones have been implicated in the generation of pro-inflammatory mediators in adipocytes. In line with this, these heat shock proteins were activated and used to protect the cell as chaperones specifically on adipocytes, their main clients would be the proteins responsible for adipogenic differentiation. Stabilizing the heat shock and adipogenic related gene and proteins would result in a continued differentiation process. While on the other hand, insufficiency of those would mean instability for both and differentiation would be halted.

The Sum of Two ϕS Orthogonal Matrices When S−TS is Normal and −1 ∉ σ(S−TS). Linear Algebra and its Applications, 495: 67-89, 15 April 2016.

In Mathematics, a group is a set together with a binary operation (usually called multiplication), that satisfies closure, associativity, and existence of inverses and an identity. Groups allow us to study symmetries of objects using math. In this work, we define a function ϕS and study the induced group of ϕS orthogonal matrices under matrix multiplication. Important examples of ϕS orthogonal matrices are the indefinite orthogonal matrices and the symplectic matrices, which appear in Lie theory and physics. By the closure property, the product of two ϕS orthogonal matrices is again a ϕS orthogonal matrix. However, the sum of two ϕS orthogonal matrices is not necessarily ϕS orthogonal. We give a characterization of matrices that can be written as a sum of two ϕS orthogonal matrices when S satisfies certain conditions. This work is the latest addition to the theory of ϕS polar decompositions (seehttp://ovpaa.up.edu.ph/ipa-awardees-for-february-2013/).

Antioxidant enzyme activities in the leaves of water hyacinth plants exposed to 0.1 and 1.0 ppm Hg(NO3)2 for 7 days.

The increasing mercury contamination of the environment, released through the use of fertilizers and herbicides, is a global problem. Mercury is detrimental to humans, animals, and plants as it induces oxidative stress and genotoxic effects. Eichhornia crassipes, commonly known as water hyacinth, is a potential phytoremediator that could absorb heavy metals from the soil or water without showing the harmful effects of the metals. The use of plants for cleaning the environment is advantageous due to its cost-effectiveness and efficiency.

Catchy title of research: Use of Artificial Infestation in Assessing Field Bioefficacyof Bt Eggplant against Eggplant Fruit and Shoot Borer

Laboratory-reared EFSB neonates used for artificial infestation.

Transfer of minute EFSB neonate to the eggplant terminal shoot.

The EFSB is eggplant’s most serious insect pest, with yield loss reaching 80%. Farmers depend on chemical pesticides, applying 20-72 times per season against EFSB. No other eggplant variety is known to be resistant to the pest, and other control methods against EFSBwere impractical and expensive. Bt technology is promising solution to the chronic problem of high pest infestations and excessive pesticide use. MAHYCO developed Bt eggplant containing cry1Ac event ‘EE-1’ against EFSB. This was crossed with Philippine varieties Mara and DLP to produce the F1 and BC1F1. Generation advancement of these varieties were conducted in the contained facility until BC3F1, producing 19 lines of DLP x EE-1 and Mara x EE-1. These were evaluated in a limited confined field trial in UP Los Baños, Laguna for efficacy against EFSB, impact on non-target arthropods, and horticultural trait evaluation. The study focused on the efficacy of 19 BC3F1 lines of Bt eggplants containing event ‘EE-1’, and Bt negative eggplant comparators against EFSB with natural and artificial infestations. DA-BPI recommended the artificial infestation to ensure that there was enough EFSB in the area. Results showed that the average damage by EFSB was significantly higher on Bt negative compared with Bt positive plants. The damage for both the artificially- and naturally-infested rows of BC3F1 DLP x EE-1 and Mara x EE-1 Bt positive and in Bt negative plants were comparable, suggesting that there is no need for artificial infestation of EFSB due to a high number of pest population in the site.

The Crop Science Cluster-Institute of Plant Breeding, University of the Philippines Los Baños developed two new eggplant F1 hybrid varieties named “Tanglaw” (NSIC 2013 Eg03H) and “Tanyag” (NSIC 2013 Eg02H). These were approved for commercial cultivation in Luzon by the National Seed Industry Council (NSIC) on October 18, 2013, and were evaluated under the National Cooperative Testing for Vegetables in CY 2012-2013. During the wet season and dry season trials, “Tanglaw” and “Tanyag” equal or surpass the marketable yield potential of the commercial hybrid check, Morena. The two new hybrids have purple, cylindrical, and medium-length fruits (19 cm), flower 2-3 days earlier, and have more fruits per kg than the hybrid check. The field reactions against sucking arthropod pests were resistant to moderately resistant. The availability of comparable eggplant F1 hybrids from the public sector could provide eggplant farmers in Luzon a wider selection of good seeds at more affordable prices.In 2015-NSIC approved the two varieties for nationwide commercial release.

Catchy title of research: Determining the age of rocks and collision of landmasses using fossil plankton from the seas of ancient Mindoro Island

About 1.67 to 4.13 million years ago during the Late to early Pliocene, the ancient Mindoro seas were teeming with plant plankton living near its surface called coccolithophores (or calcareous nannoplankton). Today, the hard parts of these plankton are incorporated in the rocks as fossils and were found in the Balanga Formation of northwest Mindoro. These fossils revealed the age of the ancient sea where sediments from the eroding landmasses of Mindoro were being deposited. This represented a period of relative quiet after the collision of the merged Palawan-Mindoro continental landmass with the Philippine Mobile Belt.

Weeds remain to be a major problem in direct-seeded rice (DSR) system of cultivation. The effect of single and sequential applications of herbicides (oxadizaon and pendimethalin) to control weeds during seed germination (pre-emergence), early weeds during herbicides (butachlor + propanil and thiebencarb + 2,4-D), and late post-emergence herbicides (bispyribac-sodium and fenoxapop + ethoxysulfuron) in controlling weeds were evaluated. The sequential applications of pre-emergence and post-emergence herbicides was the most effective in controlling weeds by 80-100 percent. The sole application of oxadiazon is the most effective with control efficacy of 96-100 percent. While manual weeding (control) has rice yields of 5.9-6.1 tons per hectare, plot applied with oxadiazon alone produced rice yields of 5.4-5.6 tons per hectare; and plot applied with oxadiazon followed by post-emergence herbicide yielded 5.2-5.8 tons per hectare. Our results revealed thtat oxadiazon is the best broad-spectrum and economically effective herbicide. Oxadiazon in combination with other effective post-emergence herbicide were equally effective, particularly in the presence of diverse species of weeds in the field.

Incidence of Crimes and Effectiveness of Interventions in the National Capital Region: Evidence from Panel Data. Philippine Statistician, 64 (2): 95-114, 2015.

Catchy title of research: Fighting Crime in Metro Manila: What is the Right Strategy?

Index crimes in the country include robbery, theft, carnapping and motornapping. The Philippine National Police (PNP) has enforced interventions to reduce the incidence of these crimes. Among these interventions are increases in number of police personnel, mobile patrols, beat patrols, and checkpoints. The study examines whether the interventions are effective using a regression model for panel data gathered weekly from all of the police stations in NCR. Not all of the interventions are effective. Moreover, there are differences in the effectiveness of the interventions across the various districts in NCR.

This study investigated the contamination of rice seeds by the bacterium.Pseudomonas fuscovaginae. The bacterium was found in seeds without visible discoloration, thereby validating the possibility of seed transmission. Clean seeds were contaminated by the bacterium during seed soaking, which lowered seed germination. Bacterial growth inside the rice tissues was observed as shown by the detection of the bacterium at different rice growth stages and parts in plants grown from inoculated seeds. Contaminated seeds can result to poor germination and seedling establishment, but the bacterium can be eliminated by soaking seeds in sodium hypochlorite to increase seed germination.

Due to rampant burning of fossil fuels, crops and other energy sources, the amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHG) is high. Hence, climate change and global warming is eminent. Philippines, although its carbon dioxide emission (167.4 MtCO2e or 0.31%) is relatively small in comparison to China (22.32%) and US (13.40%), made efforts to mitigate GHG emissions and alleviate the current environmental conditions by implementing RA 9367 or Biofuels Act of 2006. This act also aimed to lessen dependence on imported fuels. This study focused on comparing two bioethanol feedstocks, namely sugarcane and sweet sorghum, in terms of its carbon footprints, carbon savings and carbon debt payback periods. Calculations were based from the data obtained from harvesting sweet sorghum, study of Macedo et. al (2008) for sugarcane plantation, bioethanol processing book of Hugot (1986) and Organic Producers in the Island of Negros-Multi-Purpose Cooperative (OPTION-MPC) and San Carlos Bioenergy, Inc. (SCBI) bioethanol plants. Results revealed that carbon savings for sugarcane (218.99%) with a carbon footprint of -110,045.29 t CO2e per year is greater than that of sweet sorghum (154.32%) with a carbon footprint of -34,629.57 t CO2e. Carbon debts for constructing bioethanol plants for sugarcane is 65,730.39 t CO2e while 66,226.14 t CO2e for sweet sorghum. Although sugarcane has more advantage in terms of carbon savings, both feedstocks provided a savings that are able to payback carbon debts for constructing a plant. However, sugarcane has a competitive use for food unlike sweet sorghum.

The profiling of the phylogeny, chemical space, and antiproliferative activity of cyanobacterial collections served to streamline the prioritization of samples for the discovery of new secondary metabolites. The dereplication methods highlighted the biosynthetic potential and combinatorial pharmacology employed by marine cyanobacteria.

Many tropical marine cyanobacteria are prolific producers of bioactive secondary metabolites with ecological relevance and promising pharmaceutical applications. In this study, we clarified the taxonomy of the biomedically and ecologically important cyanobacterium Symploca by comparing recently collected specimens with the original type material and the taxonomic description of P. penicillatum. Molecular phylogenetic analyses of the 16S rRNA gene and the 16S-23S ITS regions showed that P. penicillatum formed an independent clade sister to the genus Symploca, and distantly related to Phormidium and Lyngbya. The production of bioactive secondary metabolites among various geographically dispersed collections of C. penicillata showed that this species consistently produced the metabolite dolastatin 10 and/or the related compound symplostatin 1, which appear to be robust autapomorphic characters and chemotaxonomic markers for this taxon.

Rona F. Barbarona* and Francis Norman C. Paraan*Institute of Mathematical Sciences and PhysicsCollege of Arts and SciencesUP Los Baños National Institute of Physics College of Science UP Diliman

Integer Effects in the Entanglement and Spin Fluctuations of a Quantum Hall System with Rashba Interactions. Journal of Statistical Mechanics: Theory and Experiment, 5: 053104, 10 pages, May 2016.

Catchy title of research: Quantum entanglement displays unique features as electronic motion and spin are coupled in a two-dimensional electron gas

The interaction between the spin and momentum of an electron leads to entanglement and zero-temperature fluctuations.

The derivative of the entanglement entropy is discontinuous at certain values of the magnetic field, a feature that is caused by gaps in the electron density of states.

Rona Barbarona and Francis Paraan, scientists from the Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Physics (IMSP) and the National Institute of Physics (NIP), respectively, have published an article in a multi-disciplinary physics journal. In their paper, the interaction between spin and orbital momentum in a two-dimensional gas of electrons is shown to cause quantum effects such as entanglement and spin fluctuations. The ideas developed in this work may be used to engineer specialized spintronic devices. Unlike conventional electronics, spintronics use electron spin rather than electron charge to carry information.

Improving the use of Physical Manipulatives in Teaching Science Concepts Through Lesson Study. International Journal for Lesson and Learning Studies, 4 (4): 328-342, 12 October 2015.

Catchy title of research: Learning to making better teaching tools through lesson study

The eardrum model.

Teachers make use of models that students use to learn science concepts in a concrete manner. But how can teachers know if these teaching tools are working properly? A professional development program called lesson study provides opportunities for teachers to improve their teaching practice in the classroom. Lesson study motivates teachers to prepare lesson plans through collaboration with the guidance of experts called knowledgeable others. This is a deviation from lesson plans that are individually prepared. The lesson plan, which is called a research lesson, is tested by implementing it as the teachers observe how the lesson plan was carried out by their colleague. The lesson study process led to the improvement of the models students manipulate in teaching science concepts by analyzing students’ responses during the lesson implementation.

Illustration of an experimental setup for a mode initially projected to the reflected beam from a nanocylinder before the output power is being detected.

The equipment development for nanoscale (in orders of 10-9) characterizations are of great interest ever since the birth of nanotechnology. New research ground emerged in exploring precise control and detection of nanoscale features. Optical characterizations have been a useful substitute for other highly sophisticated facilities in observing nanofeatures due to its easier implementation and low-cost maintenance. Figure 1 shows the experimental scheme of spatial mode projection technique in measuring the dimensions of nanofeatures. In this technique, the reflected light beam from the nanofeature is projected onto another appropriate mode, then the power output is detected to extract dimension measurements. In our work, we presented the first study of the use of mode projection on characterizing a two-dimensional nanofeature. We considered a nanocylinder with defining dimensions such as radius and height. We analytically solve the output power of the beam that is incident to a nanocylinder and whose reflection is projected onto various modes. Among the modes that we try, the Gaussian mode and tailored cylindrical mode produce power expressions that can be related to the height and the radius. The power expressions have inseparable factors that contain the information about the dimensions. We therefore propose that a sequential projection of the Gaussian mode and the tailored mode to explicitly determine the height and the radius. In a recent work, a nanostep can be quantified using a single mode. From these findings, we present a conjecture: In order to extract the desired information of a nanofeature, the number of dimensions that contribute to phase disturbance of the illuminated beam should be taken into account; This is the same number of choosing appropriate modes in explicitly acquiring the dimension values.

Philippine hornbills comprise over 16% of the world’s hornbills, a charismatic group of tropical Afro- Asian birds. All 15 taxa in the Philippines are endemic to the archipelago, often restricted to rain forests of a particular island or faunal region. Currently, half of the known hornbill species in the Philippines are regarded as threatened. Proposed taxonomic changes in hornbills follow a recent comprehensive molecular phylogenetic analysis of Bucerotidae, and re-evaluation of species limits based on the application of new criteria. We evaluate the applications of these taxonomic changes and present revisions in their conservation status. We enumerate the implications of these revisions focusing on problems and prospects in the action plans for priority conservation areas. These priority areas represent key island groups/faunal regions for endemic and threatened hornbills, including the West Visayas, Polillo, Mindoro, Calamianes, Greater Mindanao and Sulu islands

Figure 8. 2.5D forward model using gravity and magnetic data. Variation in the depth of the Moho across the central Philippines is shown. The varying Moho depth is consistent with the calculated Moho depth from gravity data (Manalo et al. 2015) and the calculated Curie point depth from the magnetic data. The shallowest Moho in the profile is located between Sibuyan and Masbate Island. Yellow dashed line corresponds to the Curie isotherm calculated from spectral analysis. Black dots are the observed gravity and magnetic values, while black solid lines are the calculated anomaly values. See Fig. 2 for the location of the profile. Legend SOC UM, gab, bas Sibuyan Ophiolite Complex ultramafics, gabbros, basalts, respectively. BOC Balud Ophiolitic Complex, Min Mindoro, Tab Tablas, Rom Romblon, Sib Sibuyan, Mas Masbate. Numbers in boldface are densities (g/cm3), while numbers in italics are magnetic susceptibilities (SI)

This study reports a theory about the structure of the Earth’s crust in the central Philippines. We employed various geophysical techniques and mathematical algorithms to gather the magnetic properties beneath the surface. We correlated what was recorded in our instruments with the type of rocks and the present structures we observed in the field. We were able to propose a model for the central Philippines showing the collision zone between two different blocks. The Palawan Microcontinental block came from a more northern position and the rest of the Philippine Mobile Belt came from a more southern position and the two blocks have been colliding for millions of years. The configuration of the collision zone beneath the surface was proposed in this study.

For a sustainable and environmentally friendly way to control soil-borne vegetable diseases such as Fusarium wilt in bittergourd and bottlegourd,macerated leaves of mustard have been tested for its effect in reducing the growth of the disease causal agents Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. momordicae and F. oxysporum f. sp. lagenariae in culture media and disease incidence in greenhouse pot experiments. Both experimental trials showed complete suppression of the pathogen and the disease in both bittergourd and bottlte gourd comparable to the performance of the standard fungicide.

Young and mature leaves with necrotic spots of the trumpet creepers tree were collected in field experimental plots in Mandaue City, Cebu, and Laguna in the Philippines. The leaf spots were colonised by a fungus identified as Pseudocercospora jahnii, which is the first report of this pathogen in the Philippines.

Figure 2. Illustrative diagram for allele swapping of AvrPi9/avrPi9 between avirulent and virulent strains. AvrPi9 is indicated by filled boxes interrupted by a line referring to the intron and Mg-SINE within avrPi9 is indicated by gray boxes. The hygromycin resistance cassette at the 30 terminus of each vector is indicated by unfilled boxes. The allele swaps with different directions are indicated at upper left.

In order for resistance to be effective, genes in the plant should complement with the genes in the pathogen. A fungal pathogen gene AvrPi9 of Magnaporthe oryzae has been identified to match with the rice resistance gene Pi9 by state-of-the-art molecular tools. AvrPi9 is the most recent M. oryzae gene that has been cloned. The role and function of AvrPi9 in gaining access to the rice plant and initiating blast disease has been fully described. AvrPi9 is prevalent in the rice fields of the Philippines and China which confirms the broad based resistance of Pi9 present in different rice growing areas in these countries.

Spin-based electronics promises to deliver devices that operate at faster speed and perform better than its conventional charge-based electronic counterparts. However, ineffective spin injection and control due to material availability and device design both hamper significantly the utilization of the electron’s spin-degree of freedom in the present commercially-existing electronic products and tools. The unrelentless search to include the spin in devices eventually lead to the revived interest in the study of spin-orbit couplings (SOCs) and its potential use in the operation of spin-based electronic devices. In our paper, we investigated the spin dynamics of an electron spin in a curved nanowire with spatially-modulated Rashba SOCs and a uniform Dresselhaus SOC. Here, we showed that the interplay of an alternating arc segments of with and without Rashba SOC and the uniform Dresselhaus SOC makes our curved nanowire to simultaneously functions as a spin inverter, a spin polarizer and a tunable spin current attenuator.

screenshot of Kritika Kultura’s twitter page during the launch last April 25, 2016.

“Reverse Carnival, Reactionary Laughter: Critique of an Intermission” is one of the essays in the special literary section “The Contemporary Philippine Essay” by Kritika Kultura guest editors Dr. Ramon Guillermo and Prof. Martin V. Villanueva. The essay focuses its analysis on what is traditionally among the least important parts of a conference: the intermission. The intermission is considered as nothing more than a light moment to break the stress of presentations. However, it is indeed the levity of its structure and placement that allows it to function as an insidious tool to push forward the agenda of a conference and the people behind it. Besides using the intermission as a relatively “new” subject matter, the essay also explores new narrative and formal techniques. In the section introduction, Guillermo and Villanueva wrote: “[Carissa] Pobre, Acuña, and [Eulalio] Guieb were not only formally alert but also critically engaged in their subject matter.”

Catchy title of research: KEEP LEPTO IN CHECK (KLIC): Serologic characterization of Leptospira among Rats trapped in selected public markets in Iloilo City, Philippines.

A rat caught in one of the markets.

The mechanism of immunity against leptospires should be of public health concern especially in areas that are easily flooded or places frequented by individuals for recreational purposes. Each serovar that causes leptospirosis, whether mild or severe, cannot generate protective immunity against subsequent infections. They have different structural components that the immune system can only mount immunity against the infecting serovar. Since scientists have yet to come up with a vaccine that targets a component common to all serovars, the popular move is to determine prevalent serovars, if not all, in an area. In this way, the residents will be protected from developing the disease.This study has provided baseline data on serovars present among rats in Iloilo. However, subsequent studies exploring other areas in the province should be done to come up with a shortlist of prevalent serovars affecting humans and other animals.

Link to the article: Impact Factor: Not yet available

Mary Barby P. Badayos-Jover and Gay D. DefiestaDivision of Social SciencesCollege of Arts and SciencesUP Visayas

When disasters strike, it is usually women who have to problematize on matters like food, safety and schooling. However, since women are oftentimes not members of recognized community organizations nor elected into public office, their concerns are very rarely taken into consideration in disaster interventions. Women’s roles and contributions to the community are often downplayed or virtually ignored. Such was the case in the 2006 M/T Solar I oil spill disaster that adversely affected the coastal communities in three out of five municipalities of Guimaras province. The study highlighted that numerous community meetings were held to address a variety of concerns after the oil spill. Most of the women respondents attended at least one to ten of these community meetings, with a few claiming to have attended 16 to 28 meetings. Results show that women expressed their opinions during these meetings but they were not sure if such opinions were seriously taken into consideration. Some respondents even said, “only the opinions of those who are close to the elected barangay captain were considered” or “only the opinions of men” were heard. Meanwhile, very few consultations were held specifically for women and these were mostly on topics deemed fit for them, such as gardening and clean up. Women’s experiences of battering and sexual harassment in the aftermath of the disaster were not looked into nor addressed. The glaring lack of gender-sensitivity in disaster response is made apparent in the study. The results emphasized the need for women’s involvement in disaster interventions.

Simulating the Impact of Conservation Agriculture on Corn Yield in the Philippines Using the DSSAT CERES-Maize Model. Philippine Agricultural Scientist, 98 (2): 190-201, June 2015.

Catchy title of research: Corn yield increases under conservation agriculture and decreases under plow-based systems in the Philippines

Field data collection for crop modeling studies.

Conventional plow-based system is still widely practiced for crop production in the Philippines in spite of the results of numerous studies showing its adverse impacts on soil, most notably increased soil erosion and decreased soil organic matter. An alternative to sustainable agriculture is a biological engineering approach called conservation agriculture, which is based on the principles of minimum soil disturbance, continuous mulch cover and diversified crop rotation. However, its long term effect on crop yield in the Philippines, particularly of the widely-grown corn, is virtually unknown. Hence, this mathematical modeling study was conducted to predict the impact of conservation agriculture on corn yield using the DSSAT Ceres-Maize model, a widely-accepted crop growth model. The model was calibrated and validated using crop, soil and weather data obtained from an experimental site in Claveria, Misamis Oriental, Philippines under conservation agriculture production system and conventional plow-based system. Simulation results showed that corn yield would increase by a maximum of 5.5% to 10.2% with conservation agriculture under a scenario of 30% increase in both soil organic carbon and total nitrogen. On the other hand, corn yield would decrease by a maximum of 24.4% to 28.5% with conventional plow-based system under a scenario of 30% decrease in both soil organic carbon and total nitrogen. The simulation results showed that corn yield under conservation.

Ralstonia solanacearum (synonyms: Pseudomonas solanacearum, Burkholderia solanacearum) is a soil-borne pathogen causing bacterial wilt on more than 200 plant species which includes economically important crops such as potato, tobacco, tomato, eggplant, and banana. The pathogen is a highly variable species which has been classified by race, biovar and most recently by phylotype. Several DNA based techniques such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), 16s rDNA sequence analysis, repetitive extragenic palindromic (rep-PCR), restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) were employed to further understand the diversity of R. solanacearum. Rep-PCR, a DNA amplification based technique which makes use of DNA primers corresponding to naturally occurring interspersed repetitive (rep) elements in bacteria, has been found to be extremely reliable, reproducible, rapid and highly discriminatory. In the Philippines, specifically in the potato-growing areas in Benguet, bacterial wilt or “kuyes”, as potato farmers call it, became a major threat to the potato industry. Understanding the biology of the causal pathogen is an initial step in the formulation of an effective management strategy for bacterial wilt.

Detection and Molecular Characterization of Cryptosporidium and Eimeria Species in Philippine Bats. Parasitology Research, 115 (5): 1863–1869, May 2016.

Catchy title of research: Present! On the Prevalence of Cryptosporidium and Eimeria in Philippine bats

Cryptosporidium is an obligate intracellular parasite that infects various vertebrates and causes a diarrheal disease known as cryptosporidiosis. Bats are naturally infected with zoonotic pathogens; thus, they are potential reservoirs of parasites. We investigated the species and genotype distribution as well as prevalence of Cryptosporidium and Eimeria in Philippine bats.We captured and examined 45 bats; four were positive for Cryptosporidium spp. and seven were positive for Eimeria spp. We detected Cryptosporidium bat genotype II from Ptenochirus jagori. Three other Cryptosporidium sequences, detected from Rhinolophus inops,Cynopterus brachyotis, and Eonycteris spelaea, could not be classified as any known species or genotype; we therefore propose the novel genotype Cryptosporidium bat genotypes V, VI, and VII. Bat genotype V is associated with human cryptosporidiosis clade, and therefore, this genotype may be transmissible to humans. Our findings demonstrate that the bats of the Philippines represent a reservoir of multiple Cryptosporidium and Eimeria spp.

This study investigated the contamination of rice seeds by the bacterium.Pseudomonas fuscovaginae. The bacterium was found in seeds without visible discoloration, thereby validating the possibility of seed transmission. Clean seeds were contaminated by the bacterium during seed soaking, which lowered seed germination. Bacterial growth inside the rice tissues was observed as shown by the detection of the bacterium at different rice growth stages and parts in plants grown from inoculated seeds. Contaminated seeds can result to poor germination and seedling establishment, but the bacterium can be eliminated by soaking seeds in sodium hypochlorite to increase seed germination.

Gay D. DefiestaDivision of Social SciencesCollege of Arts and SciencesUP Visayas

Measuring Adaptive Capacity of Farmers to Climate Change and Variability: Application of a Composite Index to an Agricultural Community in the Philippines. Journal of Environmental Science and Management, 17 (2): 48-62, December 2014.

Catchy title of research: Coping with climate change: An Analysis of farmers’ adaptive capacity and adaptation.

Farming families in the Philippines are and will be severely affected by climate change because of the climate-sensitive nature of their livelihood and lack of resources for coping. The right programs and policies can help remedy this problem but information on farmers’ adaptive capacity is crucial. This research addresses this gap by measuring the adaptive capacity to climate change and weather variability of 520 farming families. The study looked into levels of adaptive capacity, differences in such levels and actual adaptation. To analyze the survey data, an index consisting of five indicators of adaptive capacity, based on a previous study was used. The indicators included four types of resources (human, physical infrastructure, financial, information) and livelihood diversity. The findings reveal that farming households have different levels of adaptive capacity to climate change mainly because of the information, physical and financial resources that they have. Farmers, who owned farming equipment, had more training on farming techniques, have better access to weather information and credit facilities had higher adaptive capacity scores. It was also found out that most farming households employed some adaptation measures to cope with climate change. Those with higher adaptive capacity however, applied more adaptation techniques. Thus, better adaptive capacity translates to more adaptation strategies.The study recommends increasing the adaptive capacity of farmers by providing them with more information, financial and physical resources through training on climate change sensitive farming techniques; strengthening of farm organizations; better access to weather information and credit; and effective crop insurance.

Link to the article: Impact Factor: (2014) 0.250

Gay D. Defiesta and Mary Barby P. Badayos-JoverDivision of Social SciencesCollege of Arts and SciencesUP Visayas

Catchy title of research: Do women suffer more during disasters? Economic marginalization of women in a disaster situation.

Women tend to suffer more than men because they are poorer, less educated and have limited access to economic opportunities. They are also multiple burdened and some are even victims of violence. Studies show that women’s suffering are worsened during disasters due to gender discrimination in disaster preparedness, response, and rehabilitation.This research analyzed women fishers’ experiences of economic marginalization following a devastating oil spill in Guimaras, Philippines. Results reveal that prior to the disaster, women were already left out in most economic activities. Fishing is controlled by males as they own boats and are able to catch more expensive fish. Women do minor fishing such as gleaning which earn them meager income. When the disaster struck, all fishing activities stopped but men were able to fish after two weeks because their fishing grounds were less affected. The women however did not catch anything for several months because the oil heavily affected the gleaning areas. Response and rehabilitation generally favored men. Relief goods were given to male household heads. They were also provided temporary work. Men also got higher damage compensation since computations were based on fishing assets and income. Moreover, women are tied to their household and were not allowed to seek jobs elsewhere to augment income. These findings show that disasters indeed increase economic marginalization. For effective and fair disaster risk reduction programs, it is recommended that all DRR initiatives must be guided by gender needs assessment and gender sensitive targeting schemes.

Chinese sprangletop (Leptochloa chinensis) is becoming a major weed in dry-seeded rice system. The growth and reproduction of the weed was evaluated under varying rice planting densities, nitrogen application rates, and water regimes. Irrespective of nitrogen application rate and water regime, the growth and seed production of Chinese sprangletop was reduced as the planting density increased to 640 plants per square meter. When grown without the rice crop, the weed became taller and showed better growth under aerobic or dry soil compareed to saturated or wet soil condition. Nitrogen application did not affect the growth and seed production of the weed grown together with rice, but apparently affected the rice plant. Our results have shown that rice weed-competitiveness, in addition to the use of drought-tolerant varieties, high seeding rate and application of optimum amount of nitrogen, are good management components in controlling Chinese sprangletop under dry-seeded rice establishment condition.

Catchy title of research: Getting to Know the Plants of a Muyong in Brgy. Kinakin, Banaue, Ifugao

Figure 1. Maps showing the location of the study area.

Muyong or traditional forests are deemed important components of the rice terraces landscape of Banaue, Ifugao. It supplies irrigation water for the rice paddies (payoh); it provides firewood, timber, medicine and food for the locals; and it shelters various kinds of wildlife species. This muyong patch is home to 52 woody species from 40 genera and 31 families. The most represented families were Euphorbiaceae, Fabaceae, Myrtaceae and Phyllanthaceae while the most represented genera were Macaranga, Ficus, Syzygium, and Desmodium. Eight species are endemic to the Philippines and one species [Alnus japonica (Thunb.) Steud.] is introduced to the muyong. Also, Macaranga caudatifolia Elmer is listed as threatened. Dominant woody species in the muyong were Clethra tometella Rolfe ex Dunn. (umog), Weinmannia luzoniensis Vidal (tabangawen), Calophyllum soulattri Burm. f. (bitaor), Lithocarpus submonticolus (Elmer) Rehder (palayon) and Macaranga caudatifolia Elmer. (bayyakot). Floral composition of muyong showed a close resemblance to the tropical lower montane forest formations.

Histological and Some Histochemical Features of the Labial and Pharyngeal Glands of the Philippine Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis L.). Philippine Journal of Veterinary Medicine, 51 (1): 1-7, 2014.

The histological and histochemical features of the labial and pharyngeal glands of the Philippine water buffalo were described using hematoxylin-eosin, periodic acid-Schiff (PAS), mucicarmine and alcian blue pH 1.0 and 2.5 stains. The predominantly mucous labial glands of the Philippines water buffalo were moderately developed. They were found in the lamina propria-submucosa and tunica muscularis as loosely arranged lobes and lobules surrounded by collagen fibers. The duct system consisted of a few intercalated and striated ducts and numerous interlobar and excretory ducts. The secretory units of the labial glands reacted positively to mucicarmine, PAS, AP pH 1.0 and pH 2.5 stains. The pharyngeal glands on the other hand, were large, consisting of compact lobes and lobules, which were distinctly predominantly mucous in the nasopharynx and laryngopharynx. Striated ducts were absent. The glands reacted positively to mucicarmine, PAS, AB pH 1.0 and pH 2.5. Histologically and histochemically, the labial and pharyngeal glands of the Philippine water buffalo resembled, to some extent, those of the other species of domestic animals.

Histological and Some Histochemical Features and Morphometrics of the Nasolabial Glands of the Philippine Water Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis L.) and Cattle (Bos taurus L.) (Artiodactyla: Bovidae). Philippine Journal of Veterinary Medicine, 50 (2): 59-63, 2013.

The histology and some histochemical features and morphometrics of the nasolabial glands of the Philippine water buffalo and cattle were described and compared using sections stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H &amp; E), periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) and alcian blue (AB) pH 1.0. In both species well-developed nasoloabial glands were found in the hypodermis of the muzzle. In the Philippine water buffalo, however the glands may extend into the reticular layer of the dermis. The histomorphology of the nasolabial glands were basically similar in both species except that in the Philippine water buffalo the lobules were more distinct because of thicker interlobular connective tissue septae. Intralobular ducts were also more numerous in Philippine water buffaloes. Slightly coiled and straight excretory ducts were observed in both species. Based on the type of secretion, the nasolabial glands in both species were predominantly mucous. The reactions of the secretory acini to the PAS and AB pH 1.0 stains were identical in both species. Morphometrically, the only significant difference observed between the two species was on the height of the intralobular duct epithelium. The intralobular duct epithelium was highest in male Philippine water buffalo and lowest in the female Philippine water buffaloes.